Thiruvananthapuram :

Time and remuneration have never a subject of concern for Kilimanoor R Thyagarajan, who devoted his life to teaching violin, said health minister V S Sivakumar. He was inaugurating ‘Thyagaraja Vybhavam’, the 70th birthday celebrations of the famous violinist here on Friday.

The birthday celebration of the unsung artist was organized by the students and teachers of Sri Swathi Thirunal Music College from where he had retired 15 years ago. Thyagarajan, also an alumnus of the college, passed the Vaipattu Ganabhooshanan in 1961, followed by a graduation in violin. In 1972 he returned to the college as a lecturer and was on a dedicated mission of nurturing musical talents for the next 28 years.

Prominent violinists Attukal Balasubramaniam, Pangapara Rajendran, R K Ramadas and Kadanaad V K Haridas are prominent among his disciples.

Thyagarajan is the only one from the state to earn Akashavani’s B high grade in viola recital. Viola, slightly larger than violin in size, is used to play lower notes. Thyagarajan got attracted to the instrument after he was inspired by the sole viola artist in India, M Balamuralikrishna. He has also penned and composed more than 100 compositions which include 11 works based on Bible, two from Quran and another few on Sree Narayana Guru. ‘Thyagesha Priyam’, an audio CD consisting of a series of five classical compositions of the artist, was released at the function.

“We want to introduce collection composed by our master to the public. These are the few unseen and unheard works of our professor, which we want to publish and show our gratitude for our master. It will also serve as a reference to the present generation,” voinist Muttara B N Ravindran said.

A 26-minute documentary on R Thyagarajan titled ‘Thyagarajam’ was screened at the function followed by a live performance of ‘Thyagesha Priyam’.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram / TNN / April 04th, 2015